Of Politics And Freeriders

As we've noted many times over the last few years, the modern Republican party and the one that many of you may remember - the classic political Party of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and early 80s - are two entirely different animals.

Modern Republicans are almost always concerned that someone else might be getting even the smallest benefit from what Republican Party members themselves might have earned. That extreme form of protectionism is one of the main reasons the concept of the individual mandate was created by Republicans in the first place - to stop any so-called freeriders from getting insurance and health service benefits the freeriders hadn't paid for.

This twisting of core values has truly warped the once honorable GOP. The Republican Party has gone from a party that at one time believed in true conservatism - conserving that within our government which is good, and keeping those things going - to a party at war with itself. Instead of changing their actions to more accurately reflect their stated ethics, the Republican Party has attempted to hide the fact that many of its most prominent members no longer really have ethics, outside of a selfish, bloated, corporatism.

Of course, you'll never hear a modern Republican admit this sad reality.

As both E.J. Dionne and Steve Benen pointed out Monday, the near-puritanical denial by modern Republicans that their party ever believed in greater social benefits like the interstate highway system and guaranteed student loans - which were both created at the direction of legendary Republican President Eisenhower -  has led to an incredibly odd partnership.

Like England's Queen Elizabeth did with the Church of England when she realized it didn't really have a serious moral core, the modern Republican Party has simply grabbed whatever vaguely moralistic ideas and organizations they could get their hands on, called it "religion", and strapped it to themselves.

The problem with this became evident Monday, when Mitt Romney, the party's likely 2012 Presidential nominee, was confronted at an event about religion - specifically, one of the more unusual doctrines of the Mormon faith. Many Americans may not realize it, but up until 1978, the Mormon Church had a ban on interracial marriage, at which time the church removed the ban.

While we have no problem with the Mormon faith, the problem the questioner forced Mr. Romney to address - and that Romney actually ducked for about ten minutes - was whether the doctrines of his faith (like disallowing inter-racial marriage) would shape the policies and decisions a President Romney might make.

At one time, this kind of question would have been something that a GOP candidate could have ducked, by simply saying they believed in God personally, followed up by reciting Article VI, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which says that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

In other words, that candidate simply could have said, "My relationship with my religion is personal business, but my ethical core remains strong."

Sadly, that's not the Republican Party of today.

In a blind quest to do away with any kind of free riders at all, the modern GOP has become the very political party President Eiserhower warned his brother about in 1954, all the while carrying the most dangerous freeloaders of all - extremist religious fanatics - into the heart of our political system.